Navi Mumbai: A private bus travelling from Udaipur in Rajasthan to Pune caught fire after a short circuit in its AC wiring on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Thursday morning. All 14 passengers and the driver escaped safely.
The incident occurred around 7.25 am at kilometre 16.600 on the Pune-bound lane of the expressway. According to Rasayani police, the driver of the Hyundai Travels bus (MP 44 ZB 6776) noticed smoke coming from the AC wiring while travelling towards Pune.
The driver immediately pulled the bus over to the roadside and found that it had caught fire. He evacuated all 14 passengers and moved them to a safe location before attempting to douse the flames using a fire extinguisher. However, the fire intensified and eventually engulfed the entire bus.
On receiving information about the incident, one fire-fighting vehicle from MSRTC, two fire tenders from New Panvel and a fire brigade team from Khopoli reached the spot. The blaze was brought under control within around 45 minutes.
“There was no traffic jam following the incident as vehicular movement was very low during the early morning hours. Since the bus had been moved to the roadside, other vehicles were able to pass through. None of the 14 passengers was injured, and the fire was brought under control within around 45 minutes. The travel company subsequently arranged another bus for the passengers to continue their journey,” said PI Abhijit Bhujbal of Rasayani police.
Police and Patalganga fire brigade officials later inspected the burnt bus. The preliminary information indicates that the fire was caused by a short circuit in the AC wiring.
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